This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Wound management significantly affects many aspects of health care and is involved in many medical procedures. For example, wound care typically involves absorbing and/or draining blood, serum, and other body fluids from the patient. In particular, various surgical procedures also require fluid drainage. For example, post operative fistulas [e.g., enterocutaneous (“EC”) fistulas] can develop, which have fluid drainage that needs to be managed. Such fistulas may develop in the setting of malnutrition, cancer, inflammatory disease, etc. They are commonly associated with abdominal operations in the setting of inflammatory bowel disease (e.g., Crohn's disease).
A fistula is an abnormal connection or passageway between organs or vessels that normally do not connect. For example, the EC fistula arises between the intestine (namely from the duodenum, the jejunum or the ileum) and the skin surface. As a result, stool or other enteric substances will pass through the fistula (i.e., from the intestine to the skin surface) and pool up in a wound bed (such as may be present following surgery), thereby preventing wound healing. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a patient body 10 includes a wound bed 12. A fistula 14 is shown as being in fluid communication with the wound bed 10 such that stool 16 may pass through the fistula 14 and pool in the wound bed 12, thereby retarding wound healing by breaking down skin, soft tissue, and/or fascia.
EC fistulas can have severe consequences. Mortality rates have been reported as high as 20%-65%. Further, health care costs are high, related in large part to time-intensive inpatient management of complex abdominal wounds. Current procedures for wound treatment often require the patient to remain at a hospital, clinic, etc., because the wound requires near-constant regimented attention to ensure healing. And thus, wound care remains a predominant source of morbidity and health care costs. Current approaches to wound management focus on diversion of enteric substances to avoid breakdown of associated skin, soft tissue, and/or fascia.
For example, various types of porous, absorbent dressing materials have been used for dressing wounds to accumulate body fluids. The dressing materials facilitate drainage and also collection and disposal of the fluids. A disadvantage with many conventional dressings is that they require changing to reduce risks of infection and to maintain effectiveness. However, dressing changes can add significantly to treatment costs and are associated with patient discomfort and medical risks such as infection and damage to reepithelialized tissue. Accordingly, vacuum sources have been employed to drain wounds. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,071,267 pertains to wound dressings, fluid connections, and fastening systems in connection with vacuum-assisted wound drainage. Such devices are often referred to as vacuum-assisted closure, or “VAC®” devices.
VAC® devices have been somewhat successful in promoting wound healing. VAC® technology consists of an airtight dressing that provides drainage to the wound bed under a vacuum. The effectiveness of VAC® technology with fistulas, however, has been limited, as it is unable to efficiently accommodate fistula output. In particular, and referring to FIG. 2, the VAC® dressing uses a sponge 18 kept in a low pressure environment to promote wound healing. (Other components of the VAC® device are not shown in FIG. 2.) However, the sponge 18 clogs quickly with the thick stool 16 from the fistula 14 and results in pooling of stool, and thus further wound breakdown. Further, once clogged, the sponge 18 acts as a wick, allowing equal distribution of stool across the entire wound bed (as at 20), thereby further stunting wound repair.
Thus, an effective wound treatment system is needed. Further, a system that reduces the time and costs of current systems is desirable.